Market Traders Insurance

Before you open a market stall, you need to invest in market traders insurance. Market traders insurance covers stall holders against a number of eventualities, including injury or damage caused by your stall or product. 

When choosing your stall holder policy, make sure it covers you both legally and financially. For example, while public liability insurance isn’t a legal requirement, it is necessary if you don’t want to pay out thousands of pounds when someone makes a claim against your business. 

If you don’t already have it, make sure your market traders insurance policy protects you against employee liability claims. Employee liability insurance is a legal requirement in the UK, and protects you against claims made by employees in the event of injury or illness.

In addition to the two main areas of cover, you should also think about including the following in your market traders insurance policy: 

• Product liability insurance
• Market trader van insurance 
• Stock insurance

We’ll go into more detail about each of these elements later on in this article. 

If you would like to know how much market traders insurance will cost you, we’ve partnered with some great business insurance companies who can provide you with quotes, and advise you on the type of cover you should invest in for your market stall. 

Market trader public liability insurance

Is market trader public liability insurance a necessary requirement in the UK? In short, the answer is no.

Public liability insurance isn’t a legal requirement in the UK, although it’s always a good idea to include it in your market stall insurance policy. This is so you don’t fall victim to paying out huge sums of money if a member of the public injures themselves and makes a claim against your business. 

Product liability insurance

Is product liability insurance a necessary requirement in the UK? Product liability insurance isn’t a legal requirement. 

However, if someone falls ill or injures themselves by using or consuming one of your products and they decide to sue you, you’re putting your business at serious financial risk. 

By adding product liability insurance to your market trader insurance policy, you fully protect your business against any financial risk associated with product liability claims.

Employer liability insurance

Is employer liability insurance a necessary requirement in the UK? Employer liability insurance is a legal requirement for business owners who employ one member of staff and over. In fact, the government can fine businesses up to £2,500 for every day that they’re not covered. 

Employer liability insurance protects you if an employee makes a claim as a result of an illness or injury caused by your business. Contractors, casual workers, volunteers, work experience, part time, and temporary staff all count as employees.

This insurance covers medical fees, legal costs, loss of income, and other damages.

One day market trader insurance

One day market trader insurance is ideal for crafters or keen cooks looking to sell their products at fetes, festivals, and pop-up markets. What it covers will depend on your individual circumstances – whether you employ staff, want to risk not having public liability insurance, and so on. One day market trader insurance can cost as little as £28. 

Sorting transport: market trader van insurance

If you’re using a van to transport stock, you’ll need to insure it as a commercial vehicle. This means getting van insurance. Van insurance works like standard car insurance – you’ll need to tell your insurance company about any previous accidents or driving convictions, even if they didn’t happen while driving the vehicle you’re looking to insure. 

It’s worth bearing in mind that market trader van insurance doesn’t cover your stock while it’s in transit. This means you’ll need to invest in separate stock protection insurance. Find out more below.

Market stall stock insurance

Stock insurance covers the cost of replacing your stock if it’s lost, stolen, or damaged. When setting up your market stall insurance, you’ll need to select the value of the stock covered. Your insurance company will then replace your stock up to that value if it gets stolen or damaged. 

How much is market traders insurance?

Compare basic versus fully covered market traders insurance below. Bear in mind that the figures below are a basic indication, and your premium will go up in line with the number of staff you employ and the level of cover you require. 

If you would like accurate business insurance quotes, get in touch with our insurance partners. They’ll be able to provide you with bespoke quotes based on your needs.

*Based on sole trader businesses earning under £25,000/annum

Cheap market traders insurance

Organisations such as The Stallholders Club offer public liability coverage for £59.50 a year. If you don’t have any employees, purchasing a specific policy like the one offered by The Stallholders Club is the cheapest way to protect your business. However, you won’t be covered for things like damage or theft of stock, or personal injury.

If you do employ staff, you are legally obligated to have employers liability insurance. This means it’s worthwhile purchasing a market traders insurance policy that covers things like employee liability, public liability, and any extras you may need.

National Market Traders Federation (NMTF) insurance

The NMTF is an organisation that represents market traders on a local, national, and international level. It offers market traders advice and assistance from lawyers and accountants, in addition to market traders insurance. 

Market traders are instantly covered once they become a member. For a sole trader, annual membership costs £140, and gives you the following protection:

For extras such as stock insurance and van insurance, it may be worth taking out separate policies with other providers.